On the Future of Indigenous Traditions - Munin

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The munda is responsible to the manki who is the divisional incharge and also to the administration of which he is functionary. The kili ‘punch’ is responsible to the kili itself. After the enforcement of Wilkinson Rule the munda and manki (which is a customary positions among the Hos) is recognized and nominated by the government from among the Khuntkattidar families, but the kili punch is elected by the people. Originally the munda was the custodian of the village land, but now he collects rents with the assistance of dakwa, and is responsible for keeping a check on crime in the village, settles all disputes with the help of clan (kili) elders 43 and also does some of the activities that a pahan among the Mundas does. The Kharias call their village head ‘Pradhan’. In some Kharia villages, the village panchayat is preceded by ‘Dihuri’, the village religious head. Besides the village panchayat, they have an inter village federation or parha panchayat or ‘Kutumb Sabha’. If the parties in dispute are not satisfied with the decision of the village panchayat they go to the inter village federation for justice. The post of the village head is hereditary. 44 The Santhal village community is governed by a five member council headed by a ‘manjhi’, the custodian of village property. The manjhis report to their ‘parganait’, the head of the ‘pargana’ or group of villages. Next to the manjhi, the ‘paranik’ works more like his assistant or rent receiver. Then there is ‘jogmanjhi’ who acts as ‘costos morum’ to the young people of the village. Anoher important post is the two officials ‘naeke’ and the ‘kundam naeke’, the principal village priest and the field priest respectively. 45 Archer also noted that on occasion women could be appointed manjhis and that the post was usually hereditary. The highest body among the Santhals was the annual hunt where all adult males assembled. Underlying all these structures was the notion that the community as a whole took decisions in every field- religious, political, social and economic, and that the headmen could be replaced if they abused their position. 46 43 P.R.N.Roy, Hand Book of Chota Nagpur Tenancy Laws along with Customary Laws in Chota Nagpur (Allahabad:Rajpal and Company, 2005), 330. 44 Ibid., 334. 45 W.G. Archer, Tribal Law and Justice: A report on the Santhal (New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, 1984), 4-10. 46 Nandini Sundar, “Custom' and 'Democracy' in Jharkhand”, Economic and Political Weekly 8 (October,2005), 4430-4434. 36
The social organization for their administration, as we can see among the Hos, Mundas, Oraons, Kharias and Santhals, includes the main heads which are: the Munda and Manki, the Pat Munda and Parha, the Parha Raja and Mahto, the Pradhan and the Manjhi and Parganait respectively in the village and intra-village and Pargana level / zonal administrative officers. The Kili punch, the Pahan both among the Mundas and Oraons, the Dihuri and Naeke respectively are the religious functionaries among them. These positions are the same among the other three groups as well. With this we can conclude that the customary administrative systems of these five major Adivasi groups in Jharkhand are more or less the same in their organization. Another important aspect that follows this system is the resource management system of these Adivasi groups, particularly their land, forests and other common property resources. 2.3.2. Customary System in relation to land as a resource management The land holding system among the Mundas, is not very different from other communities. The Munda have two kinds of land holding systems that have an important relevance in the representation of their customary system. The first is the khuntkati system which is special because it has a collective ownership of the descendants of its founders, and thus a special management system. The second important is the ‘Bhuinhari’ 47 system which has a different patter of ownership than the former. Both these systems have some what different stakes in the parha patti system of the Mundas. The executive authority of the parha and its judicial authority are vested in a selected body known as the ‘panchayat.’ The Panchayat of the Parha in the khuntkatti area is neither a fixed body nor has any permanent officers except the president called ‘Pat Munda’ who is the social head of the parha and whose office is hereditary. However, the second kind of panchayat in a bhuinhari parha is a fixed body with a permanent president, the Raja and a permanent staff of officers -such as, 47 Bhuinhari or bhuinhar is the founding father of a village and his descendents. The term used by the Oraons. 37
Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements I dedicate this wo
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents On the Future of
Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION...........
Page 9 and 10: Map of India and Jharkhand Capital:
Page 11 and 12: Statement of the problem: The socia
Page 13 and 14: important aspect of these communiti
Page 15 and 16: Limitations and scope: The Adivasis
Page 17 and 18: CHAPTER ONE: Background of the them
Page 19 and 20: pointed out at the lack of definiti
Page 21 and 22: “which specify the tribes of trib
Page 23 and 24: ules that maintain a balance betwee
Page 25 and 26: 1.2.4. - Political Jharkhand is a p
Page 27 and 28: are associated with. Roy further ad
Page 29 and 30: - but fought in vain - to steam the
Page 31 and 32: 2.2 The customary system / laws How
Page 33 and 34: generation to another. Customs coul
Page 35: khuntkatti dars - the decedents of
Page 39 and 40: Among the Mundas these posts have b
Page 41 and 42: The sense of independence among the
Page 43 and 44: - That the practice of Adivasis cus
Page 45 and 46: sufficient occupation any more. Los
Page 47 and 48: Nevertheless, there were three reas
Page 49 and 50: the ‘modern temples of the nation
Page 51 and 52: the pilot projects of Peraj East Op
Page 53 and 54: Bank machines are lying unused. So
Page 55 and 56: 2.8 Which direction is the ‘devel
Page 57 and 58: CHAPTER THREE: Adivasi Politics 3.1
Page 59 and 60: “Originally, a tribe normally com
Page 61 and 62: system of the Adivasis that: “The
Page 63 and 64: policy of non-disturbing of the Adi
Page 65 and 66: specified, as the socio-cultural or
Page 67 and 68: 3.4. Rules & laws specific to Jhark
Page 69 and 70: in Jharkhand. They argue that reser
Page 71 and 72: 3.5. The “Tribe” /Adivasi ident
Page 73 and 74: In the political nation here, the r
Page 75 and 76: The policy of “‘tribals’ to d
Page 77 and 78: Jharkhand region and secondly, the
Page 79 and 80: The third point mentioned earlier i
Page 81 and 82: forward for discussion on the issue
Page 83 and 84: survived through different periods
Page 85 and 86: language called to be ‘the langua
Page 87 and 88:
teen Manki court. That does not lim
Page 89 and 90:
The positive side of it is that peo
Page 91 and 92:
Munda (a post within the customary
Page 93 and 94:
saying she was illegally building h
Page 95 and 96:
the state mechanism and its process
Page 97 and 98:
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 5.1. Basic
Page 99 and 100:
do we look at it to find the distin
Page 101 and 102:
“…most important argument for m
Page 103 and 104:
5.3.1. Adivasi customary system in
Page 105 and 106:
traditional customary system prove
Page 107 and 108:
Bibliography / References: Books Ar
Page 109 and 110:
Articles, Published and Unpublished
Page 111 and 112:
Appendixes: International Definitio
Page 113:
Maps 2 and 3 Photos sources: Cover
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